Hives

Poor Diva!!

Swollen eye

Now the hives

Benadryl didn't work, so off the emergency vet we went.

Waiting for the vet. Can you spot all the bumps on her body?

Poor baby. Her right eye is even more swollen.

The culprit?

A yellow jacket.

3 of our dogs - Miska, Diva & visiting Elsie - got stung.  Tyro was lucky and didn't.  Elsie only had 1 sting but Miska and Diva were stung several times.  Diva had the most stings, including one over her right eye and several on her rump.  I administered Benadryl to all 3 dogs and it seemed to work at first, but after 3 hours, Diva started breaking out into hives and she was terribly, terribly itchy.  Of course, it was late on Friday night so off to the emergency vet we went for a shot of steroids to deal with Diva's hives.  Now, we have Prednisone on hand, just in case!!

Wicked Wasps

Poor Quest (Mr Green). It was his unfortunate turn to be badly stung by wasps this morning. Mr Red (now Andras) had his turn before this. Quest was in the woods this morning and obviously disturbed a nest in the ground. He came screaming towards me, covered in about 12 wasps. I threw my jacket on him to rub them off, rushed him into the house, pulled stingers out of him and rubbed the wounds with vinegar this time instead of a paste of baking soda and water.

He easily had about 12 stings or even more. Poor fellow. The vinegar did work to reduce the pain and swelling but I have to remember to wear gloves when I do this as the acetic acid started to sting my skin after prolonged exposure. Quest trembled and then slept for most of the morning although he did have an appetite but we kept feeding to a small meal in case he felt ill. By late afternoon, he had returned to his normal self but I fear he may now be bug phobic as he was fleeing in terror when a fly was around him.

It's a terrible time of year for wasps. We get a lot of them but I think we actually have more than in past years. They nest in trees, the ground, on our house and other places. What good do they perform? Please tell me because I honestly can't think of anything. I hate them. They are horrible!